Robert Fathauer

Robert Fathauer is the founder of Tessellations, which produces puzzles based on his designs. As an undergraduate at the University of Denver, he double majored in Physics and Mathematics. He also has a PhD from Cornell University in Electrical Engineering. He worked as a researcher for several years at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and founded Tessellations in 1993.

In addition to his math and science background, Dr. Fathauer has had a lifelong interest in art. Starting in the early 1990's, his artistic efforts have incorporated mathematics, and in particular tessellations, fractals, and knots. He employs mathematics in his art to express his fascination with certain aspects of our world, such as symmetry, complexity, chaos, and infinity. He has created woodcuts (a medium favored by M.C. Escher) and screen prints based on tessellations, and currently focuses his efforts on digital (computer) art. His artworks are created on a Macintosh computer, primarily using the commercial programs FreeHand and Photoshop.